PNE CHAIRMAN Bryan Gray celebrated his club's promotion to the First Division by launching a stinging attack on local rivals Blackburn Rovers.

As Gray basked in the glory of North End's crowning as Division Two champions, he stoked up the rivalry between the two clubs, who will be playing in the league for the first time in 22 years, dubbing the Ewood Park outfit a "rich man's toy."

While Preston are celebrating promotion this year, Blackburn are still struggling to accept life in Division One following relegation from the Premier League last season -- just five years after winning the title with the help of Jack Walker's millions.

And Gray is determined that North End won't go the same way, saying sound financial planning will, eventually, make Preston the dominant force in football in Lancashire.

Gray, who has been involved in North End for five years with his firm, Baxi, said: "I don't agree with Blackburn's approach.

"I believe you have to do it properly and on commercial principles. Football has suffered in the past by being a rich man's toy and it can't be sustained in that way." Gray believes North End has the ability to pull more fans, and with some sound housekeeping, they have much more potential than Blackburn, who have benefited from Walker's war chest.

He added: "Our plan was always to reach the First Division within five years and to rebuild the stadium, and we have achieved that. But the idea was always to go slowly upwards, rather than go up too quickly."

And when Preston get there, he says, they will stay there. He said: "We at Preston have been there and done it, albeit in the first half of the century, and one of the key things about the Premiership is that you have to have a supporter base.

"Look at Wimbledon and Barnsley. They haven't got the supporter base to maintain a strong position in the league, which I believe we have.

"There is a strong football tradition in Preston and, in terms of passion for football, there is nowhere better in the North West.

"Our long-term strategy is to get into the top flight. We set a five-year deadline for getting into Division One, and I am not keen to set one for the Premiership, not in public anyway."

But money is available for North End boss David Moyes -- as it has been all along.

Gray, who has been accused of keeping too tight a grip on the Deepdale coffers, added: "Money is available for team strengthening, but I don't think it would be fair to say how much.

"Cash has always been available, as we proved when we bid for Nicky Forster and Martin Butler.

"If David Moyes thinks a player is worth it, then we will do all we can to get him."